


c’mon c’mon let’s start it up

by ohallows



Series: cloud country [5]
Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Farming accident, Fluff, Gen, Stardew Valley AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-10 12:47:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19905955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohallows/pseuds/ohallows
Summary: Zolf’s farm is absolutely gorgeous. It’s situated a little bit out of town, nearly walkable from Hamid’s house if he wanted to take a long stroll on a warm summer morning. The acres go on across the hills, with different crops lining the rows that stretch beyond how far Hamid can see. There are tractors and sprinkles resting in the fields, among the waving wheat and stalks of corn and bushes full of berries. Hamid loves walking the rows, smelling the fresh fruit and vegetables and the air, crisp in a way that it isn’t in the city.





	c’mon c’mon let’s start it up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [led_zephlin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/led_zephlin/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUNA I HOPE YOU DONT MIND GETTING THIS
> 
> comments and kudos are super appreciated thanks :)

Zolf’s farm is absolutely gorgeous. It’s situated a little bit out of town, nearly walkable from Hamid’s house if he wanted to take a long stroll on a warm summer morning. The acres go on across the hills, with different crops lining the rows that stretch beyond how far Hamid can see. There are tractors and sprinkles resting in the fields, among the waving wheat and stalks of corn and bushes full of berries. Hamid loves walking the rows, smelling the fresh fruit and vegetables and the air, crisp in a way that it isn’t in the city. 

He enjoys it, out here, more than he thought he would. Growing up in an estate, even with a family of his size, he’d gotten used to having nearly endless expanses of space where you wouldn’t see another person, bar the staff working on the estate. Zolf’s farm is different; he’s nearly the only person who works on it, apart from when it’s time to harvest one of the larger fields of crops, and even then it’s just him and Feryn. They’ll both get up early and Feryn will close the adventurer’s guild and blacksmith’s shop for the day, instead helping Zolf handle the farm. 

Zolf had explained this to him a few weeks ago, when they’d been sitting out on the porch in the warm summer night and Hamid had been asking about the farm upkeep. 

It’s interesting, really, being the only person out in the fields. Calming. Definitely not what he expected when he first moved out to Dunnock Town, and definitely nothing he ever saw himself doing.

Hamid also loves to see the animals, even if the barn smells… well, like a barn. The goats are probably his favorites, and Zolf’s too, if the affectionate way he introduced Hamid to them was any indication. They all came up and gently head butted Zolf in the knees, crowding around him and bleating happily. It was… adorable, almost, and then they all seemed to see him at the same time and come over to him, anxiously, before butting their heads against his head and surrounding him as well. 

The cows are also all sweethearts, and Hamid will sit in their pen and feed them grass while Zolf works away at their end of the barn - apparently it’s getting a little drafty in the winter, so he’s working on putting new wood up. He’ll pull his shirt off if it gets hot enough, giving Hamid the chance to look more at his tattoos. His forearms are covered in them, and Hamid still has a few that he hasn’t asked Zolf to explain, so he’s stuck trying to figure out which ones he hasn’t found yet. 

The chickens are maybe his least favorite, but that’s more because he got pecked half to death the first time he stepped in the pen, and Zolf had to bodily lift him up and give him a piggyback ride before they all calmed down. But it’s fine now, and they mob him the way they do to Zolf when he steps into the pen with feed.

He starts spending more time there in the summer, after the rainy spring ends and it’s warm enough for him to lie in the grass and sleep on days that the store isn’t open. Zolf is nice enough to come pick him up and drive him back, and keep working on the farm while Hamid spends some time relaxing. 

Of course, that doesn’t mean Hamid doesn’t help. He stays away from handling any of the farm equipment, especially after the tractor incident that left Zolf’s face white as a sheet and Hamid more embarrassed than he’s ever been. But feeding the animals is a safe enough task, and Hamid restocking the hay and scattering feed for the chickens is enough to give Zolf time to do other things. 

And Hamid  _ likes _ being helpful, especially with how much Zolf does for him, and seeing Zolf smile at him and tell Hamid that he’s done a good job makes his chest warm up a bit. 

Which is why Hamid is struggling to lift one of the weed cutters in the barn; Zolf had asked him if he would be able to move some of the equipment back to the shelves, getting them off the floor, and Hamid had agreed. But the weed cutter was a bit heavier than he’d expected, and then he’d lost his grip thanks to his sweaty palm, and it went crashing down, blade slipping against his hand on the way. 

“Ow,  _ fuck _ , shit -“ Hamid yells, stumbling back and clutching at his hand as blood drips down his palm, falling to the floor below. The weed cutter crashes to the ground with a large clatter and he falls to one knee beside it, gripping his wrist tight.

“What? What happened?” Zolf calls, running up to where Hamid is kneeling on the ground, feeling slightly numb. He reaches out to examine his palm, where the long gash is just oozing blood, and hauls Hamid to his feet.

“Dropped the weed cutter,” Hamid says through gritted teeth, squeezing his eyes shut against the pain. He’s starting to breathe more heavily, trying to distract himself, when he feels Zolf tug at his shirt.

“Hey - Hamid,” he says, not unkindly. “Can you open your eyes? I need you to follow me back to the house. I can wrap it up there. Just… keep it elevated for now, yeah? And keep this on it.”

Hamid eyes the rag in his hand dubiously but listens, pressing it tightly to his palm. It stings, but he’s able to keep his whimper muted as he follows Zolf, holding his hand up. Thankfully they’d been in one of the closer sheds, and it isn’t too far from the house. Zolf steers him to the kitchen and pulls out a chair for him to sit in before disappearing down the hallway. 

The cut on his palm still stings, and the rag is starting to get soaked through with blood. Hamid’s arm shakes as he keeps applying pressure to his palm, clenching his jaw against the pain. He tries to relax, pretty sure that he’d read something in university about how tensing up will just make the pain worse, but it doesn’t help. 

“You should have been being more careful,” Zolf says as he reappears, sitting down across from Hamid with the first aid kit, a bowl of water, and a clean set of towels. “Hand.”

Hamid holds out his hand and Zolf grabs it, more gently than Hamid was expecting. “How bad is it?” 

“It isn’t too deep, and it doesn’t look too dirty. Sorry, this might hurt.” Zolf takes one of the rags and dips it into the water, brushing it against Hamid’s palm. He flinched as the coarse rag touches the sensitive skin, but successfully doesn’t call out. The rag makes three, four more passes along his skin, cleaning away the blood and the cut before Zolf seems satisfied and drops the now-bloodied rag into the bowl of water, which starts to run red.

The acetone on the cut stings more than the water, even with how softly Zolf dabs at the cut. He winces and lets out a small cry as it pours into the cut, and Hamid feels his whole body tense up at the pain. 

“Sorry,” Zolf mutters, letting go of Hamid’s hand. 

Hamid shakes his head, mutters a low, “It’s fine,” and pushes his hand back over to Zolf. Stretching it out will only make it hurt for longer; it’s better to get it over with now, get the pain done in one fell swoop. 

He gets a dubious look in return, but Zolf still grabs his hand and positions it over the bowl as he pours the acetone onto a rag and presses it a bit more quickly onto Hamid’s hand.

“Almost done,” he mutters, and drops the acetone rag into the bowl. The bandages are next, stark white on the dark oak table, and Zolf gently takes Hamid’s wrist again, glancing up at him and waiting for Hamid to nod before he starts wrapping the bandages. 

Zolf is careful as he wraps his palm. Hamid sucks in a sharp breath when the bandages first touch the cut, but after that it’s just waiting for Zolf to finish up. The bandages feel just tight enough, and when Zolf secures them Hamid is pretty sure that nothing is going to make it come unfastened until he needs to change them. Zolf pats him on the back of the hand and places his hand back on the table, grabbing the bowl of water and remnants of the bandage roll. 

“Oh, Zolf, I clean this up,” Hamid says, trying to stand up, only to feel Zolf’s hand on his shoulder.

“Trust me, you won’t want to do almost anything with that hand for a bit. Don’t worry about it, Hamid, I can do it,” he responds, and sets about the kitchen. He rinses the two rags and tosses them onto the counter before washing the bowl and setting it in the drying rack.

“You alright?” Zolf calls from the sink, drying off his hands and turning back to face Hamid. 

“Yeah, I think so. It still hurts a bit,” Hamid says, pulling his hand back to rest in his lap. It doesn’t feel like it’s bleeding anymore, but there’s just a little twinge there whenever he tries to move it or flex his fingers. “Thank you, Zolf.”

Zolf shrugs. “I’ve cut myself on the equipment a number of times, and I couldn’t tell you how often Feryn has. We’ve had to bandage each other up too often.” 

Hamid leans forward on the table, resting his chin on his non-injured hand. “The mines?”

They sound terrifying, from what Zolf has told him, and even if Zolf is confident enough to go down into the mines, Hamid can’t imagine going down there to face the monsters, even for some of the more valuable gems like diamonds and rubies that you can find at the lower levels. There are enough scars on Zolf’s chest and back and everywhere that Hamid doesn’t really care to know anything beyond the most basic descriptions. He still makes Zolf text him any time he’s going down into the mines, and let him know whenever he’s back and safe. Sasha has taken to doing the same anytime she accompanies him, and has assured Hamid that she does her best to make sure Grizzop does too, even if that feels more like a losing battle sometimes. 

Zolf nods. “It’s usually not too serious, but there have been a couple close calls before. Thankfully, the guild is right there, so me and Feryn have a place to go to get healed up.”

He grabs the rags from the counter and heads back down the hallway, grabbing the first aid kit from the table on the way. Hamid watches him go, absentmindedly picking at the bandages on his hand and wondering how much it’s going to hurt tomorrow if he has to move anything around the shop.

After Zolf returns, he looks at the bandages one more time and gives Hamid a detailed list of instructions on how to keep it clean and help it heal faster (which ends with Zolf just sighing and saying he’ll text Hamid the instructions after he leaves); and then they head out to the porch and sit on the swing together. Zolf’s prosthetic leg gently keeps the swing moving as they sway back and forth under the stars.

“Really, Zolf,” Hamid says eventually, looking out over the field as the moon casts a soft light over everything. “Thank you for bandaging this up. I - I appreciate it.”

“Of course, Hamid,” Zolf says, quiet. “Not just gonna let you bleed out.”

Hamid nods, slowly. “And thanks for - oh, I don’t know, letting me stay here so often. I know you’re busy, but. I enjoy spending time with you, and helping out here.”

“You know you’re always welcome, Hamid,” Zolf says. “Even though you bled all over my shed floor today.”

“Oh, shut up, you - ” Hamid shoves at Zolf’s shoulder, but he can’t help the laugh that escapes while he does.

Zolf gives him a warm smile, corner of his eyes crinkling as they sit there in the sunset, and Hamid almost forgets that his hand is hurting when he pulls up his knees to his chest, leaning back against the porch swing and letting his eyes slip shut.


End file.
